The Tony Blair Institute returns as a PR advisor for the "Rama" government

The former prime minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair, has once again committed himself to providing advice to the Albanian government through the institute directed by him "Tony Blair Institute for Global Change".

Through an announcement published on the official website, the "Tony Blair Institute" seeks to hire a senior advisor to work with the Albanian government, in order to "advance an ambitious transformation agenda" set by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.

According to the announcement, the "Tony Blair Institute" is expected to engage in public sector reforms, including the national political agenda, digital transformation, energy reform and the transformation of the Albanian government.

"The advisor will work closely with government counterparts in the Prime Minister's office and the relevant ministries and agencies," the Tony Blair Institute said in a statement.

Strategic advice on domestic and international policy issues as well as communication and PR methods to promote "project successes in public" are listed among the areas of responsibility of the advisor.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair founded the non-profit organization "Tony Blair Institute for Global Change" in 2016 and currently works with 20 countries around the world, mainly African countries.

Blair has previously advised the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama through "Tony Blair Associates" - a collaboration that began in 2013 and was declared closed in 2016. However, Blair's work in Albania remained a mystery and was never really revealed .

Meanwhile, Cherrie Blair's law firm also won contracts from the Albanian government while her husband was an adviser.

Asked by BIRN about the terms of the advice given to the Albanian government by the Institute directed by Tony Blair, the director of the Media and Information Agency, Endri Fuga said that it did not cost the Albanians anything.

"We don't have any financing arrangements," Fuga said in a reply via the WhatsApp app.

“From time to time they offer free consulting. We don't pay anything. Albanian taxpayers do not pay anything," he added, denying the existence of a signed agreement.

Tony Blair is Britain's longest-serving Labor Prime Minister, serving from 1997 to 2007. He then worked as a lobbyist and adviser to various governments around the world, a job that made him rich but also criticized in the United Kingdom. BIRN